Cloud to R.E.M.: Every Ariana Grande Perfume, Ranked

Ariana Grande has more perfumes than most people can keep straight, and her fans argue the rankings like it’s a league table. Is Cloud actually the best, or just the loudest? Does the quiet one sneak the win? She’s one of the rare names in celebrity fragrances where the bottles aren’t merch, people wear them on purpose. They skew sweet and gourmand, the kind of thing that pulls double duty as a summer perfume when everything heavier feels like too much. Four of her biggest, ranked top to bottom. Loud to soft.

The One Everyone Already Owns – Ariana Grande Cloud

Women

You already know this one. Half of any school hallway has worn it. It opens lavender and pear, then turns into the whipped cream and coconut thing it’s famous for, which is the same fuzzy-musk lane Kylie later worked in her gourmand mists. People keep calling it a budget Baccarat Rouge 540, though the two drift apart faster than the dupe talk lets on. On the wrong skin it goes plasticky instead of sweet, and that’s the only complaint that’s really stuck.

The Sugar Rush – Ariana Grande Sweet Like Candy

Women

Perfumer

Not disclosed

Fragrance Family

Floral Fruity Gourmand

Projection

Low to Moderate

Notes

Top: Sugar-frosted blackberry, Bergamot, Pear

Middle: Crème de cassis, Marshmallow, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Frangipani

Base: Vanilla, Cashmere woods

Her third scent, from 2016, and a lot of girls’ first real perfume. My cousin went through a whole bottle in one school year, which tells you the crowd. Powdered-sugar blackberry on top, marshmallow underneath, with a soft floral lift that borrows from the same jasmine you’d actually want in proper jasmine perfumes. Smells lovely. Lasts about as long as a song, though, since the top fades in minutes and the rest is mostly gone by lunch.

The Grown-Up Pick – Ariana Grande God Is a Woman

Women

Perfumer

Jérôme Epinette

Fragrance Family

Oriental Floral

Projection

Low to Moderate

Notes

Top: Pear, Ambrette

Middle: Orris, Turkish rose

Base: Madagascar vanilla, Creamy sandalwood

This is the one I’d hand someone who swears they hate celebrity perfume. It’s a juicy pear over a powdery floral middle, then a creamy sandalwood drydown that reads pricier than the receipt. Vegan, too, if that sways you. The catch is it stays close and quits around the five-hour mark, so anyone hunting for a room-filler is going to be let down.

The Wind-Down Scent – Ariana Grande R.E.M.

Women (leans unisex)

Brand

Ariana Grande

Perfumer

Alexis Grugeon

Fragrance Family

Oriental / Amber Vanilla

Projection

Low

Notes

Top: Quince, Fig, Salted caramel, Zefir, Salt

Middle: Lavender, Pear blossom

Base: Tonka bean, Musk, Sandalwood

Named after sleep, and it pretty much smells like it. Salted caramel, a marshmallow softness, clean lavender laid over the top. It sits closer to the cozy ice cream perfumes people reach for than to anything that announces you. It’s last here because it’s the quietest, not the worst, and that’s a real difference. Picture your boyfriend’s hoodie at bedtime, except it’s lavender and caramel, and the trade is you’ll barely catch it on yourself an hour in.